The Sassy Lawyer & Pinoy Cook on food, family and home.
Of course, that’s all in the past now. The moment she had her iPod Nano in her hands, they’ve been inseparable. She’d have her gadgets for lunch if she could. 
Kidding. But she’s happy with what she’s got. 
The photos were taken yesterday while we were waiting for my in-laws for lunch. We take great photos when there’s not much else to do hehehe
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Casa is Spanish for house. CASA is also an acronym for Connie, Antonio, Sam and Alex. We are all surnamed Veneracion. We all love to take photos -- of anything that catches our fancy. It's a family obsession.
This is a journal of how we live, eat, learn, play and have fun. Work? Work is part of playing and having fun. Seriously.
In 2003, a time when I hadn't heard of the term "blog", I started a recipe website at cooking.houseonahill.net using a now defunct content management system that ran on ASP. Ok, never mind the geek talk, I'm sure you're not interested in that. The contents easily multiplied and, in 2004, I moved the food site to pinoycook.net. Always unhappy with the fact that the dot com versions of houseonahill and pinoycook weren't … (click here to read all »)
The avocado was supposed to go into sushi but I cooked all the Japanese … (more...)
Sam likes buying those frozen seafood balls in the grocery -- fish balls, … (more...)
It has a graham cracker crust and it is baked but at a lower temperature … (more...)
If you Google "melon cocktail", you'll find that there are two categories. … (more...)
According to Tastefully Done, age means deep fried and dashi, of course, is … (more...)
Di ba there should be progress with every generation…??
Giving kids everything they want just because the parents can afford it, is one way to spoil them.
In this case, imo, the compromise was a good solution. Sa huli, happy din naman sya.
and if you give them everything they like, they'll not learn the value of money. and they'll become totally spoiled
I'll tell her to read both your comments hehehehe
I think you are absolutely correct ..unselfish in the long run…they will understand everything when they have their own kids..just like we did now ..looking back to what our parents told us when we were young..it is how we live in the circle of life…on another note remind Sam she should not "do that" (ref:pix above) if she is in Canada, esp. Quebec , the lunch monitor will be very upset! he! he! jokes lang!
cheers!
i agree with tin-tin
my little son is 4 years old. sometimes, we tell him NO to toys/stuff he wanted. Even if he cries out loud in the mall, a NO means no. But if we promise something, we HAVE to fulfill our promise (we're obliged to 
)
"You (the parents) can afford it" is not a valid argument for ipods. An ipod is not a necessity like food, clothing, shelter, education (where parents should pay for the best they can afford.)
My kids have to come up with a good persuasive speech as to why they want XYZ gadget: because it's fun, and it won't interfere with my school work, I will take care of it, etc, but they need to pitch the idea to their parents same way you'd pitch an idea to venture capitalists when you're asking for money.
At age 10 up, they are old enough to make reasoned, persuasive arguments. "All my friends have it" is not a valid argument either.
Sometimes, they need to put their own money in it too, they pay for part or all of it (depending on the cost) out of their allowance as a lesson in the value of money.
That's the ideal. But in reality, it sometimes takes several sessions for them to refine their arguments and respond to our questions or concerns. And in between they do nag, nag, nag in hopes of wearing us down – and some times that works, because giving in is so much easier, isn't it? Sigh….
Well, at least they have to think about why they want what they want and how they'll use/care for it in the course of preparing their persuasive speech. And sometimes when they have to think about it, they decide they don't really want something after all. It does work as a deterrent, they have fewer gadgets than their friends do.
All kids want an ipod these days. And I did buy them. The ipod nano is good enough and you were right in giving Sam that instead of the video. I'm glad my kids value money. Back when they were in high school, their allowance was only 50 pesos a day (early 2000) while their classmates had 100 pesos. They had packed lunch anyway. I said that's the choice of their parents. I knew I could afford to give them more. Good thing I didn't. The funny thing was one of her friends couldn't afford college tuition and asked my daughter if she could borrow 60 thousand.
JS, I don't believe in making kids grovel. If what they're asking for isn't bad, and it is reasonable, then fine. There doesn't have to be a reason for fun. It's something we all need for balance. Parents drink, go shopping, socialize… do they have to justify their actions? Should they come up with good reasons for doing all that? I prefer to teach my kids by example. And so long as my brand of fun does not step on others' toes, or is destructive, or regressive, I don't need validation from anyone. I want them to learn that too.
In fact, even when they don't ask… and I see something that I think they will enjoy and the price is reasonable, they don't have to ask. They may not be earning their money yet but I treat them as colleagues rather than subordinates the way you illustrate, JS. Just because they are younger doesn't make them less than me.
Noemi, my kids get 25 pesos a day and they're incoming freshman and sophomore HS students. Of course, they bring packed lunches and recess.
Sassy, you're many, many notches above my father. When we were kids, there were only 3 things we could ask money for: food, clothes and books. Nothing else. Am I thankful iPods weren't invented when I was younger!
I don't think making a reasoned proposal to your parents is groveling. Pre-teen kids or teenagers should be able to think through why they want something, and fun is a perfectly valid reason (that I did mention above.)
I help them think through the pros and cons of a purchasing decision, regardless of who's paying. To me an ipod is a big deal, not a casual impulse buy like say, going out for ice cream, which we'd do on the spur of the moment.
It's great that you have a collegial relationship with your girls. Did you discuss with your daughter your post about spending now vs saving for later? I think that would be a great way to model your thought process in deciding to get the nano over the video. Maybe she still won't agree with you but that's OK.
Please don't twist this to mean that fun is always unaffordable or that life should be without luxuries. I never said that.
We haven't had the discussion about ipod because she didn't want one. Two of her friends got ipods for Christmas and I casually asked if she wanted one, but she said she doesn't listen to music much so her radio and CD player are enough for now (I notice those aren't on very much so she's actually right about that.)
Sassy,
If my kids ask for something quite too expensive even as a gift for birthday or Christmas, we tell them to save their money so they can afford to buy it some time later.
Or they can do summer jobs to raise the money.
JS, most parents won't admit it but there are a lot of times when saying "no" is simply a show of power. Like, "I have the money, I decide."
Teaching them to reason is important, yes. Teaching them assertion is great too. They don't lack the capacity for either. In fact, pilosopo na nga.
The cost of something does not make the reason for wanting it more or less valid. It does affect the parent's capacity to buy and, ergo, the decision as to whether or not to buy. Example, my 13-year-old is nuts over pop corn. SHe likes cooking them. When she was younger, everytime we went to the grocery she would ask to buy some. It cost less than 50 pesos. But I'd said no because the last time I bought pop corn, she made such a mess in the kitchen which I had to clean up. So, until she could show that she could be responsible enough, no popcorn.
See what I mean? Same with the iPod. I had given ger a cellphone and a digital camera before that and she had proved that she could use and care for them responsibly. So, beyond her wanting the iPod for enjoyment, I need no other reason.
What I never ever make "patol" with is wanting something because all her friends have one. Fortunately, that is a reason none of my daughters ever gave me because they know better.
"Did you discuss with your daughter your post about spending now vs saving for later?"
Of course. And if you reread the last part of the entry, the moment she had her Nano, she was happy as a lark.
Manang!!! You're back blogging for good??? Summer jobs are great. When they're a little older, it'll be good for them.
Sassy,
Painot-inot na blogging…Nagsasawa na ako sa MT eh.
Anyway, nasaan na ang pinoyblog community? What happened?
Nahuli ako sa balita
Pinoyblog.com is under renovation.
Sometimes its good that kids know their parents dont have money since they wont ask for things like Ipod. But if they know their parents can afford to buy expensive things,they will expect also that they will be able to get what they want. So sometimes its good to be poor,so kids learn to save and not to expect much.